I know some people find it a breeze, but I really struggle trying to be vegetarian.
Trying is the operative word, since I fail at least once a week and eat some fish, inadvertant parmesan or other off-limits foodstuff. But I’ll keep at it, and as a result, it encourages me to seek out new vegetarian options in every restaurant I go to.
Thus Momo Mandap.
There is a traditional Nepalese fried bread called sel roti that I have been keen to try since reading about it. After scouring some of the local Nepalese restaurant menus, I found that Om Restaurant had it listed as a starter for a mere £1 a piece.
I periodically search online for “new restaurants [town name]”. This is rarely successful, but allows me to be filled with annoyance and exclaim “these are NOT NEW!” at the search results, so there is some benefit.
A while ago though, I struck gold, as a random link came up to a review of a not-that-new restaurant in Aldershot called Vintuna. They offer Newari and Nepalese dining, and as I’d never even heard of the former, I was very excited. Their website explains that Newari cuisine originates “from the Newar community of Nepal”, and listed some dishes I had not come across before.
I recently started working in Soho, which of course has been the perfect excuse to eat even more delicious things.
As my wallet and waistline can both testify, there are some downsides, but I am enjoying discovering interesting lunch places, new bars and fun snacks.
Researching a good place to get a bubble tea, I came across a review of a rose milk tea at Cuppacha. Rose is a favourite of mine, perfumed and sweet, but aside from rose cream chocolates, not very common in UK dishes. This has always seemed bizarre to me, given the long association between England and roses.
Aldershot’s historic connection with Gurkha soldiers has led to a large Nepalese community settling in the local area.
There have always been the odd few restaurants here extolling the virtues of Nepalese cuisine, but the increasing audience has seen a rise in outlets and the growth of a more specialist approach.
The other night we visited Nanglo (46 Grosvenor Road, Aldershot). Its website had talked of a menu containing 30 dishes from Nepal, and I was interested to see what new things there might be to try.
